Mobile audio player with individualized radio program

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a mobile audio player, comprising
         memory means adapted to store music data and non-music data,   input means adapted to receive a user input with user preferences,   radio program generating means adapted to generate, without a connection to an external entity, an individualized radio program from stored music data and non-music data depending on user preferences input via the input means, and audio output means adapted to output audio signals representing a generated radio program.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile audio player adapted to outputan individualized radio program.

Mobile audio players adapted to store and output audio signalsrepresenting music, speech and so forth are in widespread use, either asdevices which exclusively store and play audio signals, such asso-called “MP3” players and the like, or as part of mobile phones, PDAs,laptops and the like. Typically, a user stores music data and/ornon-music data from an external source, such as the Internet, a personalcomputer and so forth, into the mobile audio player and is then able tolisten to the stored content anytime and anywhere. Most mobile audioplayers have something like a “playlist” functionality in which a usercan select music and/or non-music content according to his or herpreferences, but in any case the selection is limited to pre-generatedand pre-stored content. Some mobile audio players additionally have aradio functionality, i.e. are adapted to receive AM or FM signals fromradio stations, so that the user can listen to a wanted radio broadcastwhile being in reach of a corresponding radio transmitter. Hereby, thelistening experience is restricted to general broadcast content which isgenerated centrally in a remote radio station and broadcast to a largenumber of users simultaneously. Further, it is necessary that the mobileaudio player is within the reach of a transmitter of a radio station inorder to be able to receive the radio signals and output audio signalsrepresenting the respective radio program.

(2) Description of Related Art

including information disclosed under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a mobile audio playerwhich is adapted to provide a user with a radio program which isindividualized to the user's preferences.

The above object is achieved by a mobile audio player according toindependent claim 1. The mobile audio player according to the presentinvention comprises memory means adapted to store music data andnon-music data, input means adapted to receive a user input with userpreferences, radio program generating means adapted to generate, withouta connection to an external entity, an individualized radio program fromstored music data and non-music data dependent on user preferences inputvia the input means, and audio output means adapted to output audiosignals representing a generated radio program.

The present invention therefore provides a user with a radio stationlike listening experience anywhere and everywhere without the mobileaudio player being connected by wire or wirelessly to an external entityproviding the radio content. The mobile audio player according to thepresent invention is adapted to generate and individualized radioprogram using stored music data and non-music data in contrast tooutputting a stored radio program or outputting a radio programconsisting of pre-stored and/or pre-generated music and non-musiccontent. The term “generate” is hereby intended to define afunctionality which creates content in order to give a user anindividualized listening experience on the basis of user preferences.Although parts of the individualized radio program, mainly the musicparts, will be taken from stored content within the mobile audio player,other parts, for example spoken parts between musical pieces,commercials, jingles and so forth, can be created in the mobile audioplayer itself.

Advantageously, the radio program generating means comprises contentgenerating means adapted to generate audio content during the generationof the individualized radio program. The generated content could bemusic content or non-music content, such as speech or the like, or amixture thereof. Generating content hereby means that the resultinggenerated content is new and was not present before. Hereby, the contentgenerating means may advantageously comprise a synthesizing meansadapted to create audio data from raw data stored in said memory meansduring the generation of the individualized radio program.

Further advantageously, the radio program generating means is adapted togenerate said individualized radio program on the basis of contextparameters. Thus, in addition to the user preferences which are used togenerate the individualized radio program, additional context parameterscould be taken into account and used as parameters for the generation ofthe radio program.

Further advantageously, the radio program generating means comprises acommercials generating means adapted to generate commercials during thegeneration of the individual radio program on the basis of said contextparameters. This functionality enables an even higher degree ofindividualization of the radio program by taking into account thecontext in which the mobile audio player and the user are currently in.Advantageously, the mobile audio player may comprise context detectingmeans adapted to detect one or more context parameters regarding thecontext of the mobile audio player and/or the user. Advantageously, thecontext detecting means comprises a location detecting means adapted todetect a current location of the mobile audio player as a contextparameter. Additionally or alternatively, the context detecting meanscomprises a speed detection means adapted to detect a moving speed ofthe mobile audio player. Additionally or alternatively, the contextdetecting means comprises a moving method detection means adapted todetect a moving method of the mobile audio device. Examples for movingmethods are walking, running, riding a train, riding a bicycle, riding acar and so forth. Alternatively or additionally, the context detectingmeans comprises sensor means adapted to sense one or more physicalstates of a user.

Further advantageously, the mobile audio player according to the presentinvention may comprise context receiving means adapted to receive one ormore context parameters regarding the context of the mobile audio playerand/or the user from an external entity. For example, the contextreceiving means may be adapted to receive traffic information, weatherinformation, time and date information and the like. The receipt ofthese context parameters could be implemented by any kind or wired orwireless link between the mobile audio player and the external entity.

The present invention is further directed to a commercials generatingmeans adapted to generate commercials from raw data on the basis ofcontext parameters. The commercials generating means could be realizedas a software program and could for example be pre-stored on a storageelement and is adapted to create new commercials on the basis of one ormore of the above-mentioned and described context parameters oradditional context parameters. Hereby, the commercials generating meansuses raw data in the form of text data or any other data which areavailable in any kind of other suitable format to create commercials oradvertisements which are individualized for a specific user on the basisof respective context parameters. In addition to the creation of newcommercials, the commercials generating means may be adapted to selectpre-existing or pre-stored commercials on the basis of the contextparameters. For example, the context parameters may refer to the contextof a mobile audio player into which said commercials generating means isloaded and/or the user of the mobile audio player. The mobile audioplayer could be a mobile audio player according to the present inventionas defined above. The context parameters could for example relate to thecurrent location of the mobile audio player, traffic information relatedto a current and/or future location of the mobile audio player, themoving spread and/or the moving method of the mobile audio player, oneor more physical states of a user of the mobile audio player, weatherinformation, time and date information and/or any other suitable contextparameters.

The present invention further relates to a commercials providing systemadapted to provide commercials which are generated and can be adaptedbased on context parameters relating to the context of a user. Thecommercials providing system could be a software tool or product orcould be implemented in any other suitable manner as a stand aloneproduct or implemented in a suitable device, such as but not limited toa mobile audio player according to the present invention. It is to beunderstood that the commercials providing system could implement some orall functionalities of the commercials generating means as definedabove. Also, the commercials providing system, from a business point ofview, could be used to finance or enhance profits of the individualradio program system of the invention.

The present invention therefore suggests a mobile audio player with acentral configurable play-out module in form of a radio programgenerating means which uses different sources of radio program elements,such as, but not limited to, songs, transitions, new items, commercials,sweepstakes and so forth to create an individualized radio program onthe basis of context information. Thus, the present invention suggests anew play mode for mobile audio players consisting in a radio stationlike experience without the need for the mobile audio player topermanently receive a real radio broadcast or a data transmission forthe generated radio program. Further, the generated radio program isbased on audio content the user likes and for example has pre-stored onthe mobile audio player and is personalized to the user of the mobileaudio player and his or her context.

The mobile audio player according to the present invention could berealized as any kind of device, apparatus, element or the like adaptedto output audio signals via a suitable output element, such as one ormore loudspeakers, headphones and so forth to a user. The mobile audioplayer could be a “stand alone” device which is only provided with thenecessary functionalities to generate and output the individualizedradio program in line with the present invention, or could be part ofanother element or device or could be combined with additionalfunctionalities. For example, the mobile audio player according to thepresent invention could be part of a laptop, a cell phone, a PDA or thelike. The term “means” is used throughout the present specification toidentify functional elements adapted to perform specific functions whichcould be realized and implemented as any kind of element, unit, device,implementation, hard- and/or software or the like adapted to perform therespective functionalities. Each “means” as mentioned and definedthroughout the present specification could be part of or combined withany other “means” identified in the present specification or any othermentioned or not mentioned element, unit or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be explained in more detail on the basis ofthe following embodiments in relation to the enclosed drawings, in which

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of general embodiment of a mobileaudio player according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the mobile audio player of FIG. 1and optional connections to the external entities, and

FIG. 3 shows a more detailed block diagram of the mobile audio player ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a general embodiment of amobile audio player 1 according to the present invention. The mobileaudio player 1 comprises memory means 3 adapted to store music data andnon-music data. The memory means 3 can be realized as one or severalstorage elements (as e.g. shown as storage elements 3 a, 3 b, 3 c inFIG. 3). The mobile audio player 1 further comprises input means 2adapted to receive a user input with user preferences. The input means 2can be realized as any suitable input element, such as but not limitedto input keys, an input keyboard, touch screen or any other suitableinput device adapted to receive a user input defining user preferencesrelating to the wanted individualized radio program. The userpreferences may include any type of preferences, likings, choices,selections and so forth a user might have regarding the format and thecontent of the radio program. The mobile audio player 1 furthercomprises radio program generating means 4 adapted to generate anindividualized radio program from music data and non-music data storedin the memory means 3 depending on the user preferences input via theinput means 2. The radio program generating means 4 is hereby adapted togenerate the individualized radio program without a connection to andwithout receiving data from an external entity, i.e. without any kind ofbroadcast or communication connection to another entity or device. Themobile audio player 1 further comprises audio output means 8 adapted tooutput audio signals representing a generated individualized radioprogram generated by the radio program generating means 4.

The mobile audio player 1 of the general embodiment of FIG. 1 furthercomprises content generating means 5 adapted to generate or create newaudio content during the generation of the individualized radio program.For example, the content generating means may comprise a synthesizingmeans which is adapted to create audio data from raw data, such as textdata or the like, stored in the memory means 3 during the generation ofthe individualized radio program. The radio program generating means 4may for example comprise a commercials generating means which is adaptedto generate commercials during the generation of the individual radioprogram on the basis of context parameters regarding the context of themobile audio player 1 and/or the user. The commercials generating meanscould alternatively be part of the content generating means 5 mentionedabove. The mobile audio player 1 further may comprise context detectingmeans 6 adapted to detect one or more context parameters regarding thecontext of the mobile audio player and/or the user. Further, the mobileaudio player 1 may comprise a context receiving means 7 adapted toreceive one or more context parameters regarding the context of themobile audio player and/or the user from an external entity, for examplevia any kind of wireless or wired connection. Examples of contextparameters which could be detected by the context detecting means 6 arethe current location of the mobile audio player 1, the moving speed ofthe mobile audio player 1, the moving method of the mobile audio player1 (for example walking, running, cycling, driving etc.), one or morephysical states of the user and so forth. Examples for contextparameters received by the receiving means 7 are traffic information,weather information, time and date information, news information and soforth. The time and date information may also be available from acorresponding time and date providing element within audio player 1.

As stated above, the general idea of the present invention is to providea mobile audio player providing a radio station like music listeningexperience for a user as opposed to purely playing out music from a setusing any kind of selection mechanism. The generation of anindividualized radio program as suggested by the present inventionexclusively for a specific user based on user preferences provides amuch more personalized radio program as any kind of broadcasted radioprogram services can ever be. Further, the generation of theindividualized radio program according to the present invention does notrequire any connection to an external entity, for example a reception ofa radio broadcast channel or the like. The radio program generatingmeans 4 uses only music content from the memory means 3 in a first stepand shapes the radio program as much as possible to the individual userby taking into account the user preferences as well as one or morecontext parameters, such as a news broadcasts, weather forecasts,traffic situations, the current location of the mobile audio player 1,the target location of the mobile audio player 1, the current time anddate, the moving method (driving, walking, riding etc.) and the like ofthe mobile audio player 1. Either context sources connected to orimplemented in the mobile audio player 1 can be used, such as thementioned context detecting means 6, or context data sources in anexternal location could be employed, from which the context parametersare received via the mentioned context receiving means 7. The receipt ofthe context parameters will for example take place through the Internet,wireless LAN (Local Access Network), RDS (radio data system) or thelike.

The individual radio program is created by the radio program generatingmeans 4 using music data, for example songs, from this memory means 3 ofthe mobile audio player 1, from elements (for example musical pieces,jingles and/or a mixture thereof) that are dynamically created in themobile audio player for example by the mentioned content generatingmeans 5 and/or the mentioned commercials generating means, andoptionally from elements that have been created before either on anexternal entity, such as a personal computer, or within the mobile audioplayer 1, and are stored in the mobile audio player 1. If data thatshall be presented within the individualized radio program to the userexist as text and since the radio experience shall not be broken byusing the different output medium like a text display, the text needs tobe converted in the speech during the creation of the individual radioprogram. This can for example be done by using synthesizing means asmentioned above which could be comprised in the content generating means5 or in the commercials generating means. Further, the way theindividual radio program is generated could be changed according to anumber of predefined styles, which could for example be associated tothe style of famous radio disc jockeys.

FIG. 2 shows a further example of the mobile player 1 of the inventionand its relation to other elements outside the player. These elementsare the user 19, the pc 18, the Internet 17, the song meta database 20,the individual radio program support service 21, the news data source22, the traffic data source 23, the weather data source 24, the wirelessInternet interface 16, the radio station 15, and the RDS sender 14.These elements connect to the player 1 by the means of some of the innermodules of the player 1, namely the non-audio-out user interface 11, thesensor management 12, the audio out 8, the PC (Personal Computer)interface 10, the wireless interface 9, and the location sensor 13.

In the following these elements will be explained.

The player 1 is the device that allows the user to listen to his/heraudio content stored at the player using the “individual radio program”play mode. A player 1 can be mobile or stationary. It is often able toconnect to another device, e.g. a PC via some wired or wirelessconnection. The player 1 can use the PC device 18 to access a largercompute power and/or storage capacity, and to get data needed for the“individual radio program” play mode. Sometimes the player 1 features awireless interface 9 that allows the player 1 to access the Internet 17wirelessly, some real radio station broadcast and/or RDS transmissions.

The PC 18 (that can be a Personal Computer, but might also be anothertype of device, e.g. a gaming console) is able to connect to the player1 and to deliver data the player 1 can use for the individual radioprogram play mode. These data is often may stem from song meta databases, some individual radio program support services, and sources fornews, traffic, and weather data. These sources of data may be accessedvia the Internet 17 or another network.

There might be one or a number of different song meta database(s) 20operated by different parties. These databases offer meta data forsongs, artists, and/or records.

The individual radio program support service 21 provides data andservices that are necessary to provide the individual radio program playmode of the mobile audio player 1. Examples for this data include thedifferent individual radio program personalities, commercials, andsweepstakes. Examples for such services include the sweepstake servicethat evaluates the sweepstakes a user participates in and handles winsand losses.

The news data source 22 offers news articles, often as texts.

The traffic data source 23 offers traffic information, often as texts.

The weather data source 24 offers weather information, often as texts,and often separated for different regions or cities.

The wireless Internet interface 16 allows the mobile audio player 1 toaccess the Internet wirelessly. This device could be e.g. a WLAN AccessPoint or a HotSpot, a 2G or a 3G base station or the like.

The radio station 15 is a conventional radio broadcast station thattransmits either digitally or analogue.

The RDS sender 14 is a source of information typically found in RDStransmissions, such as time, data, traffic information, and so on. Apartfrom the RDS service, such a sender could also use a similar servicethat uses an own transmission channel.

It should be understood that the mobile audio player 1 of the presentinvention as shown in FIG. 1 may comprise none, some or all of theelements of the mobile audio player 1 as shown in and explained inrelation to FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 shows some of the necessary and optional inner components of themobile audio player 1 of the present invention in more detail. In thefollowing these elements and inner components of the mobile audio player1 will be explained. It should be understood that the mobile audioplayer 1 of FIG. 3 comprises some or all the elements of the mobileaudio player 1 of FIG. 1 (and FIG. 2) in a slightly different and moredetailed representation. The memory means 3 of FIG. 1 can e.g. berealized as a songs storage 3 a, a meta data storage 3 b and a supportdata storage 3 c which are controlled by means of an outside storagemanager 25 connected to the wireless interface 9 and the PC interface 10as shown in FIG. 3. The commercials generating means described for themobile audio player 1 of FIG. 1 could be realized as a commercialsmanager 31 as shown in FIG. 3. The content generating means 5 of FIG. 1can e.g. be realized as a combination of the commercials manager 31, atransition generator 30, a song selection component 29 and/or a speechsynthesizer 28 as shown in FIG. 3. The radio program generating means 4of FIG. 1 can e.g. be realized as a playout control 27 as shown in FIG.3. The content generating means 5 could be part of the radio programgenerating means 4 or could be a separate element. The context detectionmeans 6 of FIG. 1 can e.g. be realized as sensors 12 a, 12 b, 12 c(controlled by a sensor management element 12), a calendar 35, a clock36 and/or a locations sensor 13 as shown in FIG. 3. The contextreceiving means 7 of FIG. 1 can e.g. be realized as a news selector 34,a traffic selector 33 and/or a weather selector 32 as shown in FIG. 3.

The playout control 27 is the component that schedules the radioprogram, connects the single elements of the program, renders elementsthat exist only as text into the audio form using the speechsynthesizer, all using the selected individual radio programpersonality. Scheduling the radio program means that this component hasfirst to put some time-fixed, recurring elements of the program such asthe news and often also the commercials into their respective places.Into that frame, the scheduling tries to fit in the different additionalelements such as songs, transitions, sweepstakes and other elements, sothat the time without an element is minimized and the songs do not needto be cut for length. Apart from this beforehand-scheduling, also adynamic scheduling component can be considered by the playout control27. This dynamic scheduling is needed when breaking news, traffic orweather items show up for which the current program needs to beinterrupted. As the time-fixed program elements such as the news have tokeep their time-slot, the playout control 27 might decide to re-schedulethe rest of the program in order to cope with the changed time slots.Alternatively, these dynamically occurring items (e.g. breaking news)can simply replace parts of the current program so that the originalschedule can be kept.

Connecting the different elements depends on the selected individualradio program personality. In the simplest case, a connection is made byjust adding two elements consecutively. In more complex cases, acomplete element or a part of an element is mixed to the subsequentelement partially or completely.

If the mobile audio player 1 contains a sensor (e.g. one of the sensors12 a, 12 b, 12 c) that can measure the stress level, and if the setup bythe user is accordingly, the playout control 27 monitors the stresslevel and, once it detects an increase of stress, tries to minimize thestress induced by listening to the individual radio program service bye.g. choosing less exciting items connections, changing the pretendedmood of the DJ to “calm” or even by replacing the DJ personality by onethat is less exciting. In addition, the playout control 27 can e.g.reduce the volume of the “audio out” signal and signal the songselection to select more calm songs.

The user control component 26 manages the communication of othercomponents, e.g. the playout control 27, or the sweepstake manager 37,with the user via the non-audio-out user interface 11. It comprises e.g.means to setup the individual radio program play mode, i.e. allows toset up the currently used individual radio program personality and otherparameters. It also informs interested applications upon user actions,e.g. if the user presses a button.

The song selection component 29 generates a list of songs to be playedconsecutively using some algorithm. This algorithm can take a number ofpossible parameters into account, including the mood of the user, theprevious song in the list, the location of the user, the clock, thedate, and so on. One can distinguish between algorithms that plan aheadonly for the next song, thus taking into account recent changes in theparameters and algorithms that plan ahead a number of songs thus givingthe playout control 27 the possibility to e.g. let the neededtransitions being synthesized in time.

To that end, the song selection can query the playout control 27 foralready existing items on the playout list. Once the song selectioncomponent decided about the songs in its scope, it gets thecorresponding songs from the songs storage 3 a and returns them to theplayout control 27 and informs the transition generator 30 on this list.

For the song selection, any suitable algorithm can be used.

If the mobile audio player 1 contains a sensor that can measure whetherthe user likes/dislikes a song, the song selection can use thisinformation to rank up or down songs stored in the mobile audio player 1over time. As the user might like a song more (or less) than usual onlytemporary (after all, the user actively stored this song on his/hermobile audio player 1), the song selection has to be able to cope withthis phenomenon.

The transition generation component 30 aims at generating transitionsbetween songs in the style of a certain Radio DJ personality. To thatend it is informed by the song selection component 29 about a number ofsongs to be played consecutively in the future and the currently usedRadio DJ personality by the playout control component 27. The transitiongeneration then consults the meta data storage 3 b on meta data aboutthe two songs to connect and selects zero, one, or more meta datacategories where the values are the same for both songs (e.g. the songsare from the same band and from the same album). It then selects someinformation from the meta data storage 3 b that relates to these valuesand categories (e.g. simply the album name) and creates a transitionmoderation e.g. as a text. This to-be-read moderation text can then beenriched by sound effects from the support data storage 3 c that alsorelates to the meta data of either both songs or the next song. As anexample the DJ could shout the moderation text while trying to drown thenoise from bypassing racing cars when the next song is about car races.This transition moderation is then given to the playout control 27together with the information to which song transition in the playlistof the song selection component it relates to.

The audio out 8 is a component that is able to convert an audio fileinto a audio signal that the user can hear.

The non-audio-out user interface component 11 provides means to interactwith the user excluding the audio out means 8. These means can rangefrom a some-buttons-only interface up to the multi-touch-capable largedisplay with dedicated keyboard. This component is managed by the usercontrol component 26.

The speech synthesizer 28 gets text from the playout control 27 as wellas setup information such as the required voice, mood of the speaker,and so on. It then returns an audio file that contains a speech versionof the text.

The calendar 35 is a data source open to all other components thatreturns the current date according to some known date base.

The clock 36 is a data source open to all other components that returnsthe current time according to some known time base.

The location sensor 13 is a device that is able to find out the locationof the mobile audio player 1 with some accuracy, and to return thelocation, the accuracy and other data, e.g. a GPS device.

The PC interface 10 is a device that enables other components(especially the outside storage manager 25) to communicate with the PCdevice 18. There are many technologies that can be used for thisinterface, e.g. Ethernet or USB. In some implementations, the wirelessinterface can play also the role of the PC interface 10.

The wireless interface 9 is a device that enables other components(especially the outside storage manager 25, the news selector 34, theweather selector 32, and the traffic selector 33) to communicate withsome external communication partners wirelessly. There are manytechnologies that can be used for the wireless interface 9, not onlyalternative ones, but also such that are used in parallel, like e.g.Bluetooth, WLAN, GSM, UMTS, and so on.

The outside storage manager 25 handles the checking for new items andtransferring them to the storage components 3 a, 3 b, 3 c as soon aseither a connection to the PC (through the PC interface) is made or,typically periodically (e.g. every day) when a wireless connection(through the wireless interface) exists. New songs are stored in thesong storage 3 a. For the invention, the automatic (i.e. not initiatedby the user) transfer of songs is optional. New meta data items go intothe meta data storage 3 b. The update frequency of these items will bevery low if the set of songs is not extended. If new songs weretransferred, it is likely that also the meta data storage 3 b needs tobe updated with items relating to the new songs. New support data itemsgo into the support data storage 3 c. The update frequency on this typeof items depends on the concrete subtype of these items. Commercials andsweepstakes might be updated e.g. only on a daily basis whereaspre-recorded content from the PC might be updated with every connection.

The songs storage component 3 a stores the audio content of the mobileaudio player 1, e.g. songs, audio books, and the like.

The meta data storage component 3 b stores the meta data items thatrelate to the songs in the song storage 3 a. Meta data contains e.g. thecomposers and the lyrics writers of the song, the musicians thatperformed the song, the music publisher, and so on. It also containsmeta data on the persons that contributed to the song (like thecomposer, the performers, etc.) and on the bands that performed thesong, on the album the songs was contained, and so on. Meta data istypically stored in computer readable form, i.e. either as data of someformal data representation system, and/or as text.

The support data storage component 3 c stores all the data items neededfor the operation of the individual radio program that were not storedin the song or meta data storage. Some of the types for these items aree.g. different individual radio program personalities. Thesepersonalities are typically sets of setups for the playout control 27(e.g. the style of when and how combining speech and song elements) andthe speech synthesizer 28 (e.g. the voice) this mimicking differentRadio DJs. Further examples for the types of these items arecommercials, sweepstakes, pre-recorded audio content and the like.Commercials can be pre-recorded audio content or text messages that willbe read by the voice of the DJ or a mix of both possibilities.Sweepstakes may e.g. consist of two parts. The content part is what theuser hears explaining her/him the sweepstakes, the prices, and finallythe challenge that the user shall take (e.g. answering a certainquestion). This content can be stored either as text or as pre-recordedaudio content. The second part is a data file or program that specifiesthe reaction of the sweepstake manager in case of reactions of the useron the sweepstake. Pre-recorded audio content can be used by the playoutcontrol 27 directly and e.g. comprises sounders like jingles, stationclaims, or the station name, or entire program parts already convertedto speech from text at the PC.

The commercials manager component 31, is adapted to create commercialstailored to the taste, needs and situation of the user if required, andis adapted to manage the playout of the commercials in the course of aindividual radio program. In order to create such “tailored”commercials, this component obtains “commercial templates” from thesupport data storage 3 c. These templates contain raw material (such astexts, music, and sounds) that can be used for creating the commercialsand some “tailoring directives” that allow this component to adapt thecommercial towards the user using any information about the user and itssituation that can be found in the system such as the currently playedout song, song lists, the individual radio program setup, the currenttime and date, the current location, the current traffic situation, themood of the user, the stress level of the user, etc, and to mix the rawmaterial and the user context data together into a final commercial,optionally using the speech synthesizer in order to convert texts intospoken language. These directives can be either a program or some inputfor an adaptation mechanism, e.g. an XSLT stylesheet. As a result, thecommercials manager 31 might e.g. be adapted to create an ice creamcommercial hinting to the nearest seller of a certain brand when it ishot outside and the stress level is low, a clothing commercial for anassumed fashion taste that is derived from the type of music the user isusually listening to, a restaurant commercial if the correspondingrestaurant is nearby and the user is in a traffic jam if it is aboutlunch time, a restaurant commercial containing an audio voucher thevalue of which is higher the nearer the user is to a competitiverestaurant. In order to manage the playout, this component 31 getseither pre-fabricated commercials from the support data storage 3 c ortailored commercials according to the last paragraph and sends them tothe playout control 27. The playout control 27, in turn, is not free toschedule them as it decides to do, but has to play out them at definedpoints in time.

Compared to normal radio, commercials are an expected part of thebroadcast, but for an audio player 1 adding commercials will only beaccepted by the user if she/he gets something in return that outweighsthe burden of having to listen to something not as attractive as the ownsongs. One example of such compensation is the possibility toparticipate in sweepstakes. Therefore the commercials manager 31 isadapted to signal to the sweepstake manager component 37 the number ofcommercials played out since a certain point in time. In order toincrease the acceptance of commercials, first, the user can either grantthe system the right to play out commercials in return of some benefitsor she/he can switch the commercials plus benefits feature off. Apartfrom sweepstakes, another compensation for listening to commercialsmight be the operation of the individual radio program service itself,i.e. in return for having commercials the user can use the individualradio program service for free.

The sweepstake manager 37 manages sweepstakes on the individual radioprogram system. Often sweepstakes can be used as a means of compensationfor listening to a number of or certain commercials. Therefore thecommercials manager 31 signals to the sweepstake manager the playout ofcertain commercial or a number of these. Upon receiving e.g. this startsignal, the sweepstake manager 37 selects one sweepstake from thesupport data storage 3 c and offers it to the playout control 27 forplayout. It also prepares for processing the reaction of the user assoon as the sweepstake audio part is played out by employing the secondpart of the sweepstake. In the simplest case the user does not react onthe sweepstake or stops it manually thus allowing the system to end thesweepstake without the need of further action (the sweepstake manager 37of course could decide to start this sweepstake again later on). If theuser reacts on the sweepstake, e.g. by pressing one of the buttons onthe non-audio-out user interface, the sweepstake manager 37 is informedabout this fact by the user control component and uses the second partof the sweepstake in order to react on the user input. Reactions couldinclude sending a message to an individual radio program support servicevia the wireless interface or the pc interface, thus triggering sendinga prize to the lucky winner, or loading a new feature for the individualradio program service.

The news selector 34 accesses different news sources using the wirelessinterface 9. Whenever possible, it searches for and selects those newsitems that relate to the current situation of the user, e.g. her/hiscurrent location, route, interests, and so on. The news selector 34signals the existence of news items to the playout control 27 denotingalso whether there are breaking news the user should listen toimmediately. The optional sensors 12 a, b, c are devices that are ableto sense some physical states of the user, such as liking/disliking of asong, stress level, change of mood or any other suitable state.

The sensor management component 12 acts as a mediator between thesensors 12 a, b, c and the other components that want to accessinformation on the physical state of the user.

The traffic selector 33 accesses different traffic news sources usingthe wireless interface 9. Whenever possible, it searches for and selectsthose traffic news items that relate to the current traffic-relatedsituation of the user, e.g. her/his current location, route, means oftransportation, and so on. The traffic news selector 33 signals theexistence of traffic news items to the playout control 27 denoting alsowhether there are urgent traffic news.

The weather selector 32 accesses different weather news sources usingthe wireless interface 9. Whenever possible, it searches for and selectsthose weather news items that relate to the current and future locationsof the user. The weather selector 32 signals the existence of weathernews items to the playout control 27 denoting also whether there areurgent weather news.

The following section briefly explains some of the possible radioprogram elements, which are e.g. songs, song transitions, factlets,periodic new, breaking news, time announcements, commercials,sweepstakes, sounders etc.

Songs are pre-recorded audio recordings that are the core content of themobile audio player 1. Song transitions are audio recordings that leadthe listener from a first song to a second song. Sometimes, a transitioncan be empty. A factlet is an audio recording that tells the listenersome non-actual fact (i.e. a factlet is not a news item), e.g. the bandsone musician played in during his musical career. Periodic news areaudio recordings containing facts of events that happened not so longago. In context of the individual radio program, they shall be ofpotential interest for the user, but they do not require the attentionof the user urgently. Periodic news include weather forecasts, andtraffic news. In contrast to periodic news, breaking news require theurgent attention of the user, e.g. new traffic jam messages on roads theuser will use in the next future. Weather news are typically breakingnews only if a severe weather condition occurs surprisingly. Timeannouncements are an audible reading of the current local time. Thereare no changes needed compared to commercials aired in a regular radioprogram. Commercials can be pre-produced audio pieces and/or text thatis read by the (voice of the) DJ. However, the invention is in additionable to produce personalized commercials instead of the same commercialsfor a broad audience that take into account the interests and othercontext data of the user. One can e.g. think about commercials whose“airing” (i.e. play out point of time) depends on context data such asthe location. As a result, the user might hear a commercial from acertain fast food chain as soon as the user is approaching the nextrestaurant of this chain. Either regular sweepstakes aimed at a largeaudience can be used or personalized sweepstakes can be created, e.g.using data from the meta data database. Sounders are short audiorecordings that are needed by a radio DJ to give a radio programstructure and some “brand recognition”. Examples for sounders arejingles, station claims, or the station id.

In reality, different radio DJ personalities attract their audience to aradio program differently, i.e. the personal style of the radio DJ is animportant part of a radio program. In order to reflect this, and inorder to allow the user to further personalize the individual radioprogram system, a set of artificial radio DJ styles is offered amongwhich the user can select one. An individual radio program radio DJpersonality is a set of configurations for the individual radio programsystem that either shall reflect the style of a real radio DJ or subsumejust a certain configuration. These configurations include:

-   -   The way consecutive program items are mixed together. One        personality would e.g. announce the title of the following song        in the first part of the song that contains no text (the        so-called ramp-up) while another one would have the announcement        completed before the song    -   The configuration of the song selection module, thus resulting        in playing e.g. preferably songs from a certain time period    -   The selection of the used sounders    -   The voice that is used for speech synthesis    -   The configuration of the transition generator with the result        that e.g. one personality prefers to add factlets into        transitions while another one may be uses jokes.

Apart from choosing a radio DJ personality, another additional optioncould be a location-based radio program mode where the songs andpossibly also other program items deal with the current location of theuser. This could lead from things from more abstractly to playing thesong “Autobahn” when being on a highway to hearing “New York, N.Y.” whenentering the New York city area. As this might be fun only in somesituations, e.g. when being in holidays, it could annoy the user in aneveryday's situation. Therefore, this possibility should be optional andde-selectable by the user.

Sometimes the user might be interested in listening more from or about aband, a song, or a musical style upon hearing a corresponding song.“Elaborate on . . . ” function reconfigures the individual radio programservice dynamically so either e.g.

-   -   the band playing the current song    -   the current song    -   the musical style of the current song        becomes the special subject of the radio program. This means        that the system dynamically re-selects songs, re-schedules the        playout list and does all other things required to concentrate        on the current subject.

If the mobile audio player 1 contains a sensor 12 a that can measure thelevel of stress of the user and/or whether the user is in a calm orexcited mood, the individual radio program can offer a “calm down”function that aims at holding the user in a calm mood with a low levelof stress. To that end, the individual radio program monitors the levelof stress and the degree of mood calmness and reacts if one or bothvalues are larger than a threshold value. Upon stating this, the playoutcontrol component 27 aims at configuring the DJ personality to a morecalm degree. Additionally, the playout control 27 can schedule trainingsessions that aim at helping the user regain his/her calm. In addition,the song selection re-selects the list of upcoming songs towards morecalm music. This process can even be iterated as long as the thresholdvalue is fallen below.

The “power up” function works like the “calm down” function, but aims atholding the user in an excited mood with a certain level of stress.

In order to allow the user to immediately profit from winning asweepstake or having a voucher-like coupon with some commercials ourinvention also allows issuing “audio vouchers”. These audio vouchers areeither pre-fabricated or generated audio files whose playout can becontrolled by the system. Controlling playout in this case either meansthat the number of playouts of a single voucher can be restricted to acertain number. Or it employs a nonce-response scheme used e.g. insecure computer communication protocols where e.g. the waiter in therestaurant generates a random number that the user e.g. types in themobile audio player 1. The mobile audio player 1 then generates an audiovoucher that contains this random number in a form that cannot be forgedby a 3^(rd) party and that proves that the audio voucher was notreplayed by e.g. the use of another audio recorder. In addition to theplayout control, an audio voucher might contain a hidden or audibleserial number and/or a hidden audible watermark in order to allowcontrolling and tracking audio vouchers. Generated audio vouchers caneither by generated as computer-processable audio files e.g. usingacoustic modems or as human-audible audio files e.g. using the speechsynthesizer. Both techniques transform digital data into an audibleform, but only the latter can be understood by humans.

It should be understood that the mobile audio player 1 of the presentinvention could comprise additional elements and components in additionto the ones shown in and explained in relation to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Allelements and components of the mobile audio player explained above areonly examples and can be implemented using any kind of suitabletechnique, such as any kind of software or hardware implementation or amixture thereof.

1. Mobile audio player, comprising a memory unit adapted to store musicdata and non-music data, an input unit adapted to receive a user inputwith user preferences, a radio program generating unit adapted togenerate, without a connection to an external entity, an individualizedradio program from stored music data and non-music data depending onuser preferences input via the input unit, and audio output unit adaptedto output audio signals representing a generated radio program. 2.Mobile audio player according to claim 1, wherein said radio programgenerating unit comprises a content generating unit adapted to generateaudio content during the generation of the individualized radio program.3. Mobile audio player according to claim 2, wherein said contentgenerating unit comprises a synthesizing unit adapted to create audiodata from raw data stored in said memory unit during the generation ofthe individualized radio program.
 4. Mobile audio player according toclaim 1, wherein said radio program generating unit is further adaptedto generate said individualized radio program on the basis of contextparameters.
 5. Mobile audio player according to claim 1, wherein saidradio program generating unit comprises a commercials generating unitadapted to generate commercials during the generation of the individualradio program on the basis of said context parameters.
 6. Mobile audioplayer according to claim 4, comprising context detecting unit adaptedto detect one or more context parameters regarding the context of themobile audio player and/or the user.
 7. Mobile audio player according toclaim 6, wherein said context detecting unit comprises a locationdetecting unit adapted to detect a current location of the mobile audioplayer.
 8. Mobile audio player according to claim 6, wherein saidcontext detecting unit comprises a speed detection unit adapted todetect a moving speed of the mobile audio player.
 9. Mobile audio playeraccording to claim 6, wherein said context detecting unit comprises amoving method detection unit adapted to detect the moving method of themobile audio device.
 10. Mobile audio player according to claim 6,wherein said context detecting unit comprises a sensor unit adapted tosense one or more physical states of a user.
 11. Mobile audio playeraccording to claim 6, comprising a context receiving unit adapted toreceive one or more context parameters regarding the context of themobile audio player and/or the user from an external entity.
 12. Mobileaudio player according to claim 11, wherein said context receiving unitis adapted to receive traffic information.
 13. Mobile audio playeraccording to claim 11, wherein said context receiving unit is adapted toreceive weather information.
 14. Mobile audio player according to claim11, wherein said context receiving unit is adapted to receive time anddate information.
 15. Commercials generating means adapted to generatecommercials from raw data on the basis of context parameters. 16.Commercials generating means according to claim 15, further adapted toselect commercials on the basis of context parameters.
 17. Commercialsgenerating means according to claim 15, wherein said context parametersregard the context of a mobile audio player into which said commercialsgenerating unit is loaded and/or the user of said mobile audio player.18. Commercials generating means according to claim 15, wherein saidcontext parameters relate to current location of the mobile audioplayer, traffic information related to a current and/or future locationof the mobile audio player, moving speed and/or moving method of themobile audio player, one or more physical states of a user of the mobileaudio player, weather information, time and date information and/or thelike.
 19. Commercials providing system adapted to provide localizedcommercials which are generated and can be adapted based on contextparameters relating to the context of a user.